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Sunday, August 15

As the ‘One Year on African Soil’ mark has been celebrated, I figure it’s about time to give my own personal State of the Union Address:
1. Estimated remaining duration of service: 12 months
2. Collected number of aliases: 2
3. Current savings of PC allowance: around $400
4. Number of times I’ve wanted to go home: too many, though seriously tapering off.
5. Actual attempts to quit Peace Corps: 0
6. Total number of people in my stage that have left early: 4
7. Crushes on fellow PCVs: 3
8. Crushes on Senegalese men: 1
9. Weddings I’ve missed: 3
10. Engagements: 5
11. Planned visits to US: 1
12. Number of formal vacation days utilized thus far: 0
13. Sick days: average 1 per 1.5 weeks
14. Estimated frequency of diarrhea: 1 day of every 2 weeks
15. Estimated number of days of unsuccessful attempts to join in religious fasting: 40
16. Proportional size of med kit compared to toiletries bag: 2.5 times bigger
17. Incidents of creeping eruption: 1
18. Total number of colds/illnesses: way too many to count!
19. Number of vitamins taken each morning: 5
20. Estimated liters of water consumed: 1,145
21. Number of water bottles destroyed: 3
22. Floods in bedroom: 1.5
23. Number of roommates evicted before accepting Steve in life: 4
24. Number of times I believe Steve has actually been replaced: 5
25. Number of items I honestly need sent from US: 0
26. Number of items I honestly need to take back to the US: 2
27. Original pieces of clothing brought that I still wear: 1 dress, 4 t-shirts, 0 pants
28. Senegalese outfits accumulated: 2
29. Total weight lost: 55lbs
30. Peace Corps service in Senegal: Priceless…